House of Horrors
by Ascoeur
Summary: Where your worst fears become reality... The girls come across their greatest fears, will they be able to handle it? Strangely, a humorous fic. Hope some parts make you laugh!
1. Introductions and the Comiket Horror

Another fic from my part.

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"'Morning!" Konata greeted the twins at the train station as she approached them. The place was filled with people walking around and making conversation everywhere. Their train was to get there in about five more minutes.

"Yo!" the older twin, Kagami, returned the greeting. The younger twin just smiled and waved at the petite girl as she finally reached them.

"Hey," she started up, still fighting to catch her breath. "Do you guys have anything to do after school today?"

"Not really, Kona-Chan," Tsukasa replied and then asked, "why?"

"Have you guys heard of the new House of Horrors that has just become available to the public?" Konata asked.

Tsukasa immediately froze after Konata was done with her sentence. Kagami quickly picked up on her sister's reaction and replied, "Yeah, we have. They keep playing the advertisements on TV non-stop."

"Where your worst fears and nightmares become reality…" Konata repeated the "catch phrase" that she had heard several times playing on TV.

"Stop that," Kagami said, rolling her eyes. "I get enough of it on TV back at home. It's annoying."

"But Kagami," Konata continued, "you just don't want to go because you're scared!"

"Don't stoop me down to your level!" Kagami snapped, then pulled back some of her hair as she said, "I just don't think that students, who are studying for college entrance exams, such as ourselves should be slacking off during these crucial time in our lives."

"Y-yes," Tsukasa, who was holding onto her sister's arm, for once, agreed with her. But her fearful expression did not enforce her words. "I think we should pass this one up, Kona-chan… we have exams."

"Tsukasa," Konata started, "I may be dumb, I may be stupid, and I may be an idiot!"

_Just where is she trying to get with this? _Kagami thought incredulously, eyeing the small girl.

"But I _know_ you dislike studying for those exams as much as I do, you're just afraid of going!" she finished her sentence with fire in her eyes, fist up. And then she finally turned to Kagami, still burning with passion, just letting the words flow through her and come out as they wish. "And you, Kagami, need to get a life."

"WHAT!?" Kagami cracked, Tsukasa let go of her arm, letting the beast be unleashed. "_**I **_need to get a life? _**You **_need to get a life!"

Konata sniffled and her eyes watered as she proceeded to saying, "And Miyuki-san was so excited, too…"

"Yuki-Chan?" Tsukasa repeated the name Konata had just spoken, the one that belonged to her pink-haired friend.

"Why are you bringing Miyuki into this?" Kagami asked, eyeing Konata curiously.

Konata swirled around and glanced at the big clock that indicated their train would arrive in less than a minute. _Better make this quick._ With her back still turned to her friends, she feigned another sniffle, rubbed her eyes, and then said, "Miyuki-San was really looking forward to coming to the House of Horrors, you know?" She turned back to facing her friends, big puppy eyes staring straight into Kagami's. "Do you really want to shatter a Miyuki-Chan's dream?"

"That's not Miyuki's dream," Kagami said, folding her arms.

Konata sighed, "Either way, she wants it, okay?"

Tsukasa exchanged looks with Kagami, who just blushed, nodded, and then stared away. Tsukasa smiled at her sister's stubbornness, and then said, "Okay, Kona-chan, for Yuki-chan's sake, we'll go!"

Konata's eyes gleamed with delight, they sparkled. She threw herself at Tsukasa and then started to rub herself against her as she said, "Tsukasa, you're so nice, totally unlike fire-breathing Kagami!"

"Hmm," Kagami hummed as she glanced at Konata's little love act with Tsukasa over her shoulder. She then put her left hand on her left hip as she said, "So I breathe fire, huh?"

"I am—" Konata, arms still wrapped around Tsukasa, quickly reworded her unfinished sentence and changed it to "Miyuki-san will be so happy when she hears about this!"

Tsukasa nodded in assent while peeking from the corner of her eye, hoping to catch a glimpse of the train fast so that she and Konata could break from this awkward position in public. Then the three girls heard, and felt, a sort of vibration coming from the tunnel—the train. The train slowly came to a halt, leaving only the echoes of the remaining sounds of screeches and a faint _Puff. _Konata stopped clinging onto the younger twin and ran to one of the train's entrances, standing to the side, waiting for the amount of people that were coming out to finally decrease in number. When she thought it was finally safe to go in, she motioned her friends to follow after her as she herself entered the train. _Mission accomplished,_ she thought triumphantly as she allowed herself to crack a smugly grin.

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The girls arrived at school in less than 10 minutes, but time was running short and they had to make a mad dash to their classes, so Kagami really didn't have time to say a proper "see you later" to her friends because her class was the furthest away. Konata and Tsukasa went to their own class and just as they entered, the bell--indicating that class had now begun--rang. After having had to go through the first two periods of the school day, the bell rang once more announcing the glorious lunch hour. Kagami was dismissed by her other two friends from her own class and headed for her sister's class—3-B. She finally arrived to the classroom and as she made her way in, she greeted her three friends with the usual "Yo!"

"Kagami, you're here!" Konata cheered as she slipped out a chocolate cornet from her backpack.

"Welcome, Kagami-San," Miyuki greeted her politely, as usual. Tsukasa just waved a hand at her twin because she had already started eating and had her mouth full of food.

"Don't eat too fast or you'll choke," Kagami warned her sister of the dangers of eating too quick as she took her seat beside Konata. She dismantled her own lunch box and then started eating along with the others.

Miyuki was the one to start up conversation for once. "Tsukasa-san, Kagami-san, I just want to apologize for not agreeing to go to the House of Horrors before. I was not aware of the fact that you were really excited about going… So, I am truly sorry for not having noticed."

"Miyuki, you don't need to apologize to us or anything," Kagami said as she waved her hand so fast that it could only be seen as a blur. "Besides… Weren't _you _the one that was excited about going to that place?"

…

"Eh?" Miyuki's expression showed puzzlement and confusion. "I thought it was you and Tsukasa-San who wanted to go…"

"N-no way, I never said that," Kagami said as she put her food down.

"But according to Izumi-San, you were really looking forward to this," Miyuki finished explaining.

After hearing the name "Izumi-san," Kagami realised she, along with the other two clueless girls, had been a victim of Konata's scheme all along. Her gaze settled and locked onto Konata. "Just what is going on here?"

Tsukasa kept on eating, not looking down at her food; she was too busy trying to follow along with what was happening right in front of her eyes, as if this were the scene of some movie and she was the only audience—if you don't count the students in the background. Miyuki was part of it, too, so she couldn't stay in the sidelines with Tsukasa this time.

"My, my, whatever could you be talking about, Kagami," Konata said as she took another lick at her chocolate cornet nonchalantly.

"Don't act so innocent," Kagami said, directing a finger at her accusingly. "You know full well what I'm talking about, now, spill!"

Konata sighed and resigned, she knew she couldn't keep it up any longer—deceiving the two, that is. She placed her chocolate cornet on her desk calmly and started to explain, "Well, yesterday I called up Miyuki-San and asked her if she wanted to come with me to this new House of Horrors that had just opened to the public. But she said she couldn't come because she would only be an obstruction and stuff like that." Konata was now drawing imaginary circles with the tip of her index finger, seemingly bored. "But I just knew she was going to have fun this time so I had to make up a white lie to get her to come—"

"Not so white," Kagami interrupted.

Konata glanced at her, frowned, and then continued, "_Anyway, _I told her that you guys, Tsukasa and other, were going to come, as well, and that you were really excited about going."

"_Other!?" _Kagami thought, tapping her foot.

Miyuki picked up where Konata had left off. "Yes, I did not want to cause you any trouble because I have an extremely advanced case of Claustrophobia…"

…

"You're afraid of Santa, Miyuki-San?" Konata chimed in.

Kagami gave her a smack on the head, trying to knock some sense into the girl, and then said, "If you studied a little more you'd know that Claustrophobia is the fear of being in narrow or enclosed spaces."

"Eh!?" Konata's eyes widened in surprise. "I would have never guessed, Miyuki-san. But wait… what does that have anything to do with going to the House of Horrors?"

"Well, you see," Miyuki started to explain, fixing her glasses as she did, "I'm not very good with dark places, I feel as if I were trapped and on the verge of suffocation…"

"Oh" was all Konata said.

"But wait up a minute," Kagami said, turning her attention from Miyuki and back to Konata. "If you talked to Miyuki last night and you barely told us about your plans this morning then—"

"I knew you'd say yes, Kagamin," Konata said, leaning back on her chair now.

"How could you be so confident about getting my approval?" Kagami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You can never deny me, Kagamin," Konata said, smiling benevolently, "you never do."

"I have, too, denied you—" Kagami stopped in her tracks after having come across the horrible realisation that she had never, not once in her life since having met Konata, denied the girl. She tried to recall a time, any time, where she had refused to do as the otaku wished. But there was none. It was always a "yes" here, and "sure" there—doing as Konata pleased.

"Kagamin," Konata's voice interrupted her train of thought, as well as thrown her right out of it. "Aren't you going to finish your rant?"

"Eh… I forgot what I was going to say," Kagami replied.

"I'm disappointed…" Konata said as she reached for her juice and took a sip. She placed it back on her desk and continued, "I was expecting a better come-back than that."

"I don't need to prove myself to the likes of you!" Kagami retaliated.

"Good enough," Konata said, satisfied with Kagami's response. "So, are you guys coming or not?"

Tsukasa was finally able to join in to the conversation. "I'll go if Onee-Chan goes; I don't really want to be by myself."

"I will try and make an effort to take part in this event if you so wish me to go, Izumi-San," Miyuki said.

Konata grinned, "I got two, now." She turned to face Kagami. "How about you, Kagamin?"

Kagami saw this as her chance, an opportunity to redeem herself. She had lost to Konata far too many times; those fake tears, feigned innocence, everything she did was bogus. But this time it wasn't going to go her way, but Kagami's way. "No," Kagami replied, standing firm to her words. "I am not going. And there is nothing on this earth that will—"

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"I cannot believe I'm here…" Kagami said, a tone of defeat accompanying the words.

"An endless supply of Pocky," Konata said triumphantly. "It always works, Tsukasa."

"Y-yes" Tsukasa nodded. She wasn't sure if Konata was really speaking to her because the otaku's gaze wasn't particularly on her.

The girls now found themselves standing in line, waiting for it to gradually lead them into the most anticipated House of Horrors. School had ended about two hours ago; they had been standing in line for almost an hour. They couldn't believe how popular the place was—kids, teenagers, adults, even the elderly were part of the lot making line just to see how scary and frightening that place really was. Whenever the doors opened, only a small group of people were allowed the entrance, while the group that had entered before them came out with traumatized expressions or just plain shocked. Konata had tried sweet-talking Kagami into coming to the place. But that didn't work. So she decided to play it dirty and used Kagami's weakness to her advantage—food. An endless supply of Pocky would be something Kagami could never resist. Of course, it would fall hard on Konata's wallet but it would pay off quite nicely. Seeing Kagami scared would be glorious.

The next group had entered. Now there were only a few people left before their turn finally came around. Konata decided to strike up some conversation. "So, I heard this place was popular because it actually makes you face your greatest fears."

"In other words," Miyuki started, "we'll have to confront that which we are terrorized of the most?"

"Exactly!" Konata cheered.

"O-Onee-chan," Tsukasa whimpered, tugging at her sister's skirt. "I-I want to go back home, now."

Kagami held her sister's hand so that she could comfort her a little, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry, Tsukasa, they're just a bunch of crazy people dressing up in ridiculous Halloween costumes trying to give us a good scare and gain some money in the process."

"Oh…" Tsukasa said no more. _But Onee-Chan isn't easily scared by anything, really. She'll get by just fine._

"Kagami, don't be so pragmatic," Konata said, taking a step forward as the line moved. "You'll never have fun in your life. Act more your age."

"I'll start acting my age once _you _start acting more your age," Kagami snapped.

"Oh," Konata said, ignoring Kagami's previous comment. "The line's moving again, we're closer to the front!"

Tsukasa gulped, but she finally stopped grabbing her sister's skirt. Miyuki pulled out a handkerchief from her small schoolbag and tried patting away some of the small bits of perspiration that were starting to form upon the side of her face. The girls stayed put for a few more minutes before the person in charge of keeping the crowds in order finally let them in. Pitch Black—that was all they had seen upon entering. The darkness surrounding them, not a single thing was visible.

"O-Onee-chan, are you there!?" Tsukasa asked, panicking.

"I'm here, Tsukasa," Kagami said.

"Wow, I can't see anything!" Konata exclaimed.

"Y-yes, it is definitely darker than most common places…" Miyuki said.

"Yuki-Chan, are you alright?" Tsukasa asked.

"I-I'll be fine, Tsukasa-san, thanks for your concern," Miyuki gratefully said.

"So… isn't there someone that's supposed to guide us?" Konata asked.

"I'm not sure," Kagami said.

"Well, I think we should just keep walking for now, right?" Konata suggested.

"But I feel like I may stumble or trip on something, I can't see anything," Kagami complained.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, it's like you have your eyes closed when they're actually open!" Konata commented.

"Tsukasa, how are you doing?" Kagami asked.

There was no reply from her twin sister.

"Tsukasa?" Kagami called for her sister once more.

But she still got the same result—no response.

"Why isn't Tsukasa answering?" Konata asked. "Miyuki! Miyuki?"

The pink-haired girl didn't answer, either.

"This is weird, Konata," Kagami said. "Where could they have gone?"

"We were all together just a minute ago, they couldn't have gone far," Konata reasoned. "Wanna go look for them?"

"Sure, I just hope they're okay," Kagami said, concerned.

Right then, Konata's steps could be heard approaching Kagami. The small, blue-haired girl searched for the tallest girl's hand. She found it and held it tightly. The darkness still dwelled in the place, but Kagami could feel Konata's right hand clasped with her own left. "K-Konata, what are you doing?"

"We have to hold hands so that we don't get separated," Konata explained.

"O-oh, right."

"You sound disappointed. Did you think I was doing it for some other reason, Kagami?"

"N-no! Plus, it's dark, how can you even tell?"

"Strangely, the darkness makes it all the more perceptible."

"Walk."

"Hai."

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"O-Onee-chan?" Tsukasa called for her sister. Before having even become aware of it, she had been separated from the rest of the group. "Are you there?"

The only response she received were the sounds of the remaining echoes of her voice being bounced off the dark walls. She tried to keep on walking, but each and every time she attempted to make a move, she would bump into a wall, followed by an apologetic "I'm sorry," or "Excuse me, Wall-san." She thought she might as well close her eyes since they didn't serve much of a purpose and wouldn't make much of a difference if they stayed open.

"Kona-chan?" Tsukasa called for her otaku friend, now. "If you're trying to scare me like last time, with the Inugami family, it won't work…"

Suddenly, the darkness that surrounded her grew into raging flames of burning fire. She was startled and fell to her knees, trembling. Then, the fires ceased. It was almost as if they had never even occurred. Tsukasa, still down on her knees, found herself at a crowded place with lots of people conversing with one another and making lines for who-knows-what. Her eyes grew wide in surprise, she couldn't believe what was happening; a minute ago she was at the dark House of Horrors and now she was at a place that she found strangely familiar. Then she saw something that indicated that what Konata had said before they entered the house was no lie—a cosplayer. "I heard this place was popular because it actually makes you face your greatest fears," she remembered the otaku had said. _I'm at Comiket, _she thought, shocked.

_This can't be real, _she thought in disbelief. _I must have hit my head really hard on those walls, yes, that must be it! _She nodded to herself reassuringly. Then a crowd of crazy otakus came running down the stairs and she was caught in the sea of people.

"Aaaaaahhhh!" She let out a terrorized scream as the crowds carried her elsewhere in who-knows-where at the comic market.

The crowds dropped her off somewhere up the stairs and she sluggishly made her way to a nearby bench. She let out a heavy sigh as she sat down, looking over the large amount of people making their way in and out of stores and forming endless lines. She was fixing her crooked ribbon and straightening out her uniform when an old lady approached her. "Excuse me," the lady said, "but you are sitting at the bench that I have reserved for making my sales."

"E-eh?" Tsukasa looked down at the bench and saw a sign that had "Reserved" written on it. How was she not able to spot the thing before? "I'm so sorry!" she apologized and bowed countless time before the lady to express how very sorry she was. "I didn't know this was where you did your sales!"

The lady dismissed Tsukasa with a wave of the hand and said, "Don't worry; I know you meant no ill will."

"Thank you," Tsukasa said, her voice low.

"Say, youngster, could you do me a favor?" The old lady asked, assembling her small stall.

"What? I mean, yes! I mean—"

The woman laughed. "It's nothing at all difficult, I just want you to read one of the doujinshi that I am about to sell."

"O-oh, okay," Tsukasa agreed, taking one of the fan-made manga that were part of a large stack of the same kind.

"Tell me what you think, okay?" She said, then a customer approached her and she tended to him immediately.

Tsukasa sat down somewhere near the woman, on the same bench she had been sitting at a while ago. She leafed through the introduction and character profile pages, and then finally started reading the story. She was pretty bored after a few minutes, but her face gave off the aura of amusement, she didn't want to make the old lady feel bad. She stopped paying attention to the story by now, but kept her eyes on the figures. She started to think about how much influence anime and manga had on people, and how they stuck with them until they grew old and wrinkly. She wondered if Konata would still be an otaku once she grew into a full-fledged adult. All thoughts violently came to a halt after having reached a certain page in the manga book: two girls kissing passionately like there was no tomorrow. Tsukasa quickly turned to the next page, and the one after that, and the one following the one after that—her face growing redder and redder through each passing page—and so on until she'd reached the end of the book. _J-just w-what is this? _she thought to herself questioningly. _Those two girls, why were they—? _

"Are you done?" The old lady approached Tsukasa, leaving a customer to look over her merchandise and see what he would like to purchase.

"I-I-I," Tsukasa didn't know how to answer the old lady; she hadn't read the story at all. "I'm so sorry! This is too much, I can't handle it!" Tsukasa rose from the seat, lowered down her head, handed the book back to the old lady, and quickly ran to anywhere her feet would lead her as long as it was not t_here. _

After having run for at least a decent three minutes, Tsukasa realised she needed to use the restroom. She located a guy reading a manga sitting on a bench, he looked normal so she decided that she would ask him where the nearest restroom was. "Excuse me," Tsukasa started; the guy put the book down, and stared up at her. "Where's the nearest restroom?"

"Ah, the restroom, you ask?" the guy replied, "It's in the east building. Right now, you're in the west building. If you want to go to the east building, you'll have to make line over there, and go up one floor." He pointed toward his right. "At this pace, it would probably take you about an hour."

Tsukasa was flabbergasted. _This is just like last time! _she thought miserably. _This isn't fun; I can't have fun like this._ She then said, "Thank you, I think I'll just take the train back home, now."

"You can't," he said darkly.

"E-excuse me?" she was confused, and the mood wasn't as carefree and cheerful as it had been just about a minute ago.

"You're staying here," he said, "forever."

"N-no…" She said, trying to get as far away from the guy as possible.

"Yes, you will become one of us…" said the guy, his hands reaching out to grab Tsukasa.

Tsukasa was stricken by sudden fear, then, in the midst of all the terror, all the anime-obsessed shoppers turned around slowly, giving Tsukasa fierce looks and approaching her the same way the other guy was doing. Tsukasa was cornered by a wall; she fell to her knees, covered her head with both her hands and screamed, "ONEE-CHAN!"

Tsukasa then felt someone, or something, grab her hand, pull her down, then up, then back into the shadows along with it.


	2. The dental office is aimed at guys

"Izumi-San?" Miyuki called for the shortest member of the group. She, too, had gotten separated from the girls without even having realised it. It had been so sudden, one minute she was with the three of them, conversing, and the next she found herself all alone in the darkness. She didn't like it. Her breathing started getting heavy; she tried to relax a bit, now she wished she hadn't come at all. "Kagami-san? Tsukasa-san?"

Then, she spotted a dim light glimmering in the distance, it was about the only bright thing there was. She worked her way towards the light, trying no to trip or stumble into anything, the dark made it hard to see. The glimmering light began to stretch, or at least that's how it appeared from Miyuki's point of view, as she moved closer. She finally reached the light, only that it wasn't really a light, it was a white room. There was a small rectangular window at her left, a small table at the center of the room, two couches: one at her right and the other in front of her, there was a fish tank right next to the front couch, and a closed door right next to the couch at the left. She knew right away where she was—her dentist's dental office.

She backed away, slowly, when a woman—apparently a nurse—appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her from behind, stopping Miyuki from taking another step back. The woman held her tightly and kindly looked down at the horrified Miyuki. "Don't worry, Miyuki-chan, we'll take good care of you," she said, leading her to one of the couches. "The doctor will be out in just a minute, so why don't you wait here until he comes out, hmm?"

Miyuki could only nod as she sat down on the couch, slumping on the couch. The lady gave her a magazine and then entered the door that had been previously closed. Miyuki sighed, relieved that she at least wasn't all alone in the dark, anymore. But she dreaded the dentist; she never liked them, doctors in general. She loathed the smell of the place, the anxiousness she got before the appointment, and the sound of the miniature drill spinning—she and her two classmates agreed that the dentist was aimed at guys; it was of more appeal to them. She sighed again, and then picked up the magazine the lady had given to her. Now that she thought about it, the lady w_as _sort of pretty, which supported the criteria. She began leafing through the pages of the magazine, but immediately picked up something terribly wrong with it. She became more and more uncomfortable through each passing page, when she finally stopped and turned back to the cover, it read: "Playboy." She immediately placed it face down on the small table that was located in front of her, as red as a beet. It was now confirmed, the dental office was _definitely _for males.

Poor traumatized Miyuki remained sitting there on the couch, waiting for the doctor; she didn't dare pick out another magazine. That's when she realised she was alone in the white room, nobody watching over her. She decided she would try to escape, she was too afraid of the dentist and felt that she wasn't ready to face him just yet—even if her cavity had worsened over the days she hadn't gone. She stood up, determined to escape. She was fast, having emerged victorious at the sports festival during her race, she could most definitely make it. She took in a deep breath, and then started the mad dash out of the room when the dentist appeared right in front of her, causing her to bump into him and fall back. She looked up at him, her rear end hurting. He asked, "Now, Miyuki-chan, where are we going?"

Miyuki remained silent, on guard.

"Your appointment has only just begun," he said. "Don't leave now; your parents' money will go to waste, otherwise."

Miyuki felt slight bit of guilt, she didn't want her parents' efforts to go down the drain. The dentist helped her up and guided her towards the door the lady had entered. That door she dreaded so much since the moment she had arrived. She began to question how she had ended up in that place, the dentist's office. "I heard this place was popular because it actually makes you face your greatest fears," she recalled the otaku saying. Now she knew what she had said was no lie, no myth. One of the doctor's assistants, along with the lady she had seen before, received her with a smile, which only added to her worry. She had both assistants getting a tight grip on both of her arms, not letting go, guiding her to what was on the other side of the door.

"E-excuse me," Miyuki started, stammering. "Could you please tell me where we're going?"

"Why, inside that room, sweetie," responded one of the assistants.

"And what will happen once we are inside that room, if I may ask?" Miyuki continued nervously.

"We'll make you feel better," the lady that had given her the magazine replied.

"Though, the room is very small, Miyuki-chan," the doctor said. "We hope you can overlook that."

"S-small?" Miyuki repeated the word that the doctor had pronounced.

"Yes, and very suffocating," the assistant said. "Take it from us; we've worked here for most of our lives."

Claustrophobia was settling in. Miyuki didn't like small places, or the dark. She gulped and said, "I-I think I'll come back next week, doctor. I'm not feeling very good."

"Nonsense!" the doctor said in a carefree manner. "We'll take care of your cavity right now."

They finally got Miyuki into the small room on the other side of the door, and made her sit down on the patient's chair. They fastened some sort of belt somewhere in her waist area, and adjusted it. She wasn't able to move anymore, she felt tears welling up in her eyes, she really disliked the dentist.

"Now, now, Miyuki-chan," the dentist said, sitting beside Miyuki. "We don't want your glasses to get all soggy, so don't cry."

Miyuki couldn't help it, though, she sobbed.

The doctor reached for one of his drawers and took out something that resembled those needles used for vaccination—an anesthetic shot. "Now, Miyuki-chan, open your mouth," he calmly said. "This won't hurt a bit."

Miyuki kept her mouth closed, very tightly. She refused to open it. The assistants came to the doctor's, well, assistance. They tried to get Miyuki to open her mouth, forcefully.

"Miyuki-chan, don't make this harder than it needs to be," one of them said.

"Just open your mouth, dear," the other one said.

"I don't get paid enough for this," the dentist mumbled.

Miyuki groaned. Finally, the assistants were able to open her mouth, and Miyuki shrieked a very high-pitched "NOOOOO!"

Never-ending, that's how it seemed, echoing throughout the small room.

Then, Miyuki felt someone reach for her hand, grabbing it, squeezing it.


	3. Fast Forward:With marriage comes Weight?

"I can't believe we lost them, really," Kagami started.

"You've been saying that the whole entire time," Konata groaned. "Can't we talk about something else?"

"You're really irresponsible," Kagami reproached the girl. "Miyuki could be having a case of her claustrophobia right now as we're talking!"

"Yeah, sorry for bringing you guys into this," Konata apologized.

"You can't be serious, you're never this honest," Kagami said. "You're just saying that so that I'll stop talking."

"Ah~ you know me so well," Konata said, clinging onto Kagami's arm.

They had been walking around the House of Horrors for about ten minutes. Fortunately, they hadn't run into walls because of Konata's guidance, claiming she had "night vision" and could see more than well in the dark. They had still been holding hands, until Konata, just recently, started clinging onto her arm, much to Kagami's discomfort and embarrassment. They had been searching for Miyuki and Tsukasa blindly—literally—but they hadn't been able to locate the two girls.

"How much did we pay to enter this place, again?" Kagami asked.

"About 200 yen each," Konata responded.

"Fair play," Kagami said. "I can't find anything scary about this place, it's just dark. If I knew it was going to turn out like this I would have just turned off the lights in my room. Get the same effect, you know?"

"I get you," Konata said. "I'm pretty disappointed myself. I mean, I was expecting so much more. The advertisements looked cool and frightening."

"You seriously watch w_ay _too much TV, and computers, and video games," Kagami stopped, rethinking what she had just said, then decided to rephrase it. "Well, anything that has a screen in general."

"Kagami, do you think you're perfect?" Konata asked.

"No, why?" Kagami asked.

"You keep on ranting on and on about me with no mercy," Konata said, pretending to be hurt. "We all have our faults, Kagamin, and this one is mine."

"Yeah, but you're _beyond _imperfect," Kagami said bluntly.

"Ouch."

They continued walking, witnessing the darkness sweeping over every corner of the house. Kagami started thinking about how much homework she had and how she shouldn't have given in to Konata because of a stupid deal over an endless supply of Pocky. The otaku wasn't probably going to keep it, anyway. She always forgot that kind of stuff, just like she _"forgot" _to do homework all the time, and asked Kagami for hers. She decided to stop thinking about the insensitive girl and turn her thoughts back to more important matters, like how her sister and Miyuki got lost, for example. She didn't really know how big this House of Horrors was, but judging from how it looked on the outside, it couldn't be that big. But then why had they spent over ten minutes looking for them? And no luck at finding them, either? That was definitely weird, and what irritated her the most. Though at the moment, what really irritated her were the creaky sounds the floor made each time she and Konata took a step—it made walking annoying. She tried to keep her cool, though, not wanting to bother Konata, who was still clinging onto her arm despite the things she had said to her.

"But isn't it weird how we're the only ones here?" Konata asked.

"What do you mean?" Kagami asked, watching her step.

"Like, you know how there were a lot of people in line outside waiting to get in? Well, shouldn't they be somewhere in the house by now? Because then we would have run into them by now."

"Yeah, but remember how the people only let you in once one group already got out?" Kagami reminded her.

"Yeah, but there was this one time when this other group was let in while the group before hadn't even come out yet," Konata said.

"I guess it all comes down to time limit, huh?" Kagami implied.

"Maybe," Konata replied.

"But honestly, this is so bogus," Kagami said.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked.

"You said we were going to come across our greatest fear, but nothing's happened," Kagami said.

"Nothing's happened just yet," Konata said darkly.

"What are you on about now?" Kagami asked.

Konata returned to her normal tone of voice. "Maybe nothing's happened because we're together."

"Eh?"

Konata continued, "Since we don't share the same fear we're not coming across anything but darkness."

"You're not making any sense," Kagami plainly said.

"I get it now," Konata said mostly to herself, but the next sentence was directed to them both. "That's why Miyuki and Tsukasa are gone, because they have to face their fears alone!"

"Tsukasa is way too much of a scaredy-cat to go off on her own," Kagami said, trying to knock some sense into the girl. "And Miyuki's claustrophobic."

"But, Kagamin," Konata continued, sounding wise and enjoying every minute of it, "what you're not getting is that _something _must have driven the two away."

Kagami was puzzled, then again, with Konata it wouldn't be the first time. "So what are you suggesting we do now?"

"Go our separate ways," Konata said, letting go of Kagami's arm.

"W-wait up a second!" Kagami protested. "What do you mean go our separate ways? That's just stupid, come back here right this instant, Konata!"

"You're not my mom~" Konata said in a sing-song voice, giggling as she walked away.

Kagami didn't say anything after what Konata had said, she felt a little guilty, making the girl remember something about her past that she didn't want to recall that often—or talk about for that matter. Before she knew it, Konata was gone. She couldn't hear her giggling far in the distance anymore; she was alone. She hated being alone, as Konata had once said. She came across a funny thought while in the dark: _Maybe that's why bunnies reproduce, because they're lonely. They can't handle the thought of being alone. _Kagami managed to crack a smile, it was indeed a stupid thought, but the fact that it was so stupid is what made her laugh. She thought Konata was foolish for having left her and separated; now she had to find three people. She hoped time would be up soon and she could go back home to get started on homework. The teacher would surely get mad at her if she didn't do it; she had a reputation to keep as class representative.

She kept on walking, without Konata there to guide her, it was very difficult. She had just recently become aware of how much she had been relying on Konata, lately. Without even having realised it, she'd always been counting on her for trivial matters: when she asked the otaku her opinion on something, or when she was feeling down and always wound up in her class for some reason, comfort, maybe? Then there were the times when the petite girl asked her if she could copy her homework, looking at it from a more optimistic point of view, she helps her study. But then again, Kagami could just be thinking too much. She decided to leave it off at that, she had more important things to worry about at the moment. She wondered if Tsukasa was okay, and if she was with Miyuki just like she got stuck with Konata. Miyuki would have been better company, either way. Kagami was thrown out of thought when she saw something that appeared to be a door in front of her. It was an old-looking door, and had every right to be called creepy—must have been part of the design of the house. She walked towards it, taking careful steps so that she wouldn't fall into a hole or pit of despair as Konata would put it. She would sue whoever was in charge of the place, anyhow. She finally reached the door and opened it, receiving a creaky groan from the door as she did. She was dumbfounded at the sight of what was on the other side of the door: outdoors.

She was finally outside the creepy house, but she didn't find a long line of people waiting to go in—maybe she had gotten out through a back door of some sort. She felt proud for a moment, knowing she had gotten out of the House of Horrors all by herself, and before anybody else. Now she would head off to the front of the building and demand to get the other three out, and then laugh at Konata right in the face. She nodded to herself, satisfied with her plan, and then made her way to the front of the old-looking building. She walked around for about five minutes, but hadn't reached the front, yet. _Weird, _she thought. _I'll just keep on walking. _Kagami continued her little stroll around the building, but after three minutes she realised something was wrong. She walked backwards now, trying to find the door from where she had escaped, but couldn't find it. She was extremely weirded out by now, was she walking around in circles? She decided to head home, the train station was nearby and would only take about ten minutes to ride and walk, altogether; she wanted to get as far away from that place as possible, she'd ask for help once she had arrived.

Now at the train station, she boarded the train and let the doors slide shut behind her. She took an empty seat in front of a sleeping old man, the train wasn't crowded but she noticed that there were enough people to take one long seat each, and that was the only empty one. She stared out the window, the world looking like a blur, or like life being fast forwarded by a control remote. She just hoped she could walk back home fast enough so that she could get her friends out of the creepy house sooner. When the train finally came to a halt at her stop, she waited for the doors to slide open and then walked out. She then realised her schoolbag wasn't with her, she groaned in annoyance but decided to forget about it, she'd buy another one some other time. She finally reached her house, and knocked on the door since her key was left in her bag, and the person she least expected to see opened the door—Konata.

"K-Konata!?" Kagami practically shouted the name, astonished. "What are you doing here!?"

Much to her surprise, Konata wrapped her arms around Kagami's waist and pulled her in for a kiss. Kagami was shocked and quickly pulled away. "W-w-w-what was _that_!?" she asked, not being able to help the stuttering.

"Is this how you greet your wife, Kagamin?" Konata asked, helping Kagami, who had fallen on her doorstep, up.

"W-wife?" Kagami said, wiping the taste of Konata's lips off of her mouth. "What are you doing in my house?"

"_Our _house," Konata corrected. "Don't you remember your parents moved away and offered us the place so that we could make our little love nest after we got married?"

"Love nest!? Married!?" Kagami asked, still in shock.

"What are you going to repeat every word I say?" Konata said in a huff, arms folded. But that didn't last for long, her features softened and she grabbed Kagami's hand, pulling her into t_heir _home. "Come, it's your turn to take care of the kids while I cook. The last time you cooked, we had to get the fire department."

"FIRE!? K-KIDS!?" Kagami was in deeper shock, now.

She finally reached her living room, or what used to be her living room. The carpet was all splattered with toys and such, and there were two kids sitting on a rug—a boy and a girl. The room looked the same: with the table she and her family used to sit at together at the center, a TV right in front of it—that now contained an Xbox and Playstation 1,2, and 3 and almost every single game ever created on some shelves—and some decorations on the wall. The boy was playing video games, while the girl played with some dolls and action figures thrown on the floor. The place was a mess. Konata put a hand over Kagami's shoulder, "Aren't they just adorable?"

Kagami watched as the boy played dating sims—rated H—and some parts of the game were very violent and required him to use some killer combos to finish off an enemy—horrible.

"I taught him how to do that," Konata said proudly.

"When did we… I mean, we're both—you know. So how could we have—" Kagami tried finding the right words, but just didn't know how to put it.

"We _haven't, _Kagamin," Konata said, a little embarrassed. "That's against the laws of nature. These are Tsukasa's kids."

"TSUKASA'S!?" Kagami just kept getting more shocking news through each passing moment. What was next—pigs flying?

"Yes, which is why they look so much like you," Konata pointed out, glancing over at the little girl playing with strawberry panic dolls. "Tsukasa met this guy when she went to study the arts of cooking overseas: Las Vegas, you know?"

"LAS VEGAS!?" Kagami couldn't picture her sister going to a place like that, not even for studying abroad, or overseas, or whatever.

"Just kidding," Konata laughed. "She did go to the United States, though, but I'm not sure which state, there are a lot."

"Don't kid like that," Kagami exclaimed.

"So-rry," Konata apologized, then continued on with the story. "Anyway, then the normal "girl meets boy" stuff happened, and they fell in love, and two years after they got married, they did it, and then had twins."

"Then what are they doing here?" Kagami asked, a little disturbed at how Konata told her of her sister's love life with such bluntness in her tone—also at the fact that her sister had had twins being one herself.

"It's their anniversary," Konata said. "They asked us if we could take care of their kids for about a week."

"O-oh…"

Konata let go of Kagami's shoulder and said, "Well, I'm off to the kitchen to make dinner. You stay here and watch over them, I know you've had a hard day at work today but try, 'kay? Also, when Akio gets to the big boss battle, tell him to call me!"

Kagami nodded and then just stood in place, trying to let all the information of the current events process in her mind. Just how long was that trip she took on the train? Where w_as _she? This place was just crazy: Konata was her wife, Tsukasa had had kids and was now off to who-knows-where on her anniversary with some unknown guy, she hadn't gotten any better at home economics, and her parents had actually left her the house so that she and Konata could form a little "love nest." Had the world taken a wrong turn towards complete madness?

She turned her gaze towards the small girl; she resembled Tsukasa a whole lot: the eyes, the hair, the ribbon, and the figure. She could pass as Kagami's own daughter, as well. She figured "Akio" was the name of the boy playing video games; honestly, he was starting to become just like Konata—addicted to gaming and such. She sighed, approaching the girl now, and then squatted down to her level.

The girl noticed Kagami approaching her. "Hello, Aunt Kagami."

"H-hey," Kagami waved a hand. "Um, Aunt Kagami has been having some trouble remembering names, would you be kind enough to repeat it for me again?"

"Aika," the girl said, going back to playing with her dolls.

_Tsukasa didn't even have enough imagination and creativity to name these two children, _Kagami thought helplessly. "I see, and how old are you, Aika?" she asked.

"About four, Aunt Kagami," the girl responded, she seemed pretty quiet.

"F-four, I see…" Kagami said. "You can go back to playing with your dolls, now." Kagami left the girl to do what she pleased and walked over to where the little boy was sitting. He seemed entranced in the game, his face seemingly bored, but the fingers of his hands moved at a quick pace and swiftly, having already mastered the arts of maneuvering any sort of handler ever made at such young age.

"Hey, Akio," Kagami greeted the kid.

Akio just nodded, letting Kagami know he had heard her.

_Just like Konata, _Kagami thought a bit annoyed. "Say, Akio, do you know what year this is?"

Akio paused his game and pointed towards a calendar on the kitchen wall—2015. Akio resumed his game and paid no more heed to Kagami's presence. Kagami calculated she was about twenty-nine or thirty years of age. How did all this happen? Was there such thing as time traveling? How did she end up in a place like that? And worst of all, how and when did she hook up with Konata? She realised she hadn't looked at herself in the mirror just yet—judging from what Konata looked like, totally unchanged, she figured she'd be the same. She walked up the stairs, seeing how unusually calm Tsukasa's children were, she decided it was okay to leave them alone for a couple of minutes. She headed for the restroom; it was the same, except that now it had some of Konata's belongings splattered on the floor and lavatory. She wondered if she had gone to college, maybe she had, didn't Konata say she had just come back from work? But when she looked at her reflection on the mirror, she saw that she looked the same, she was wearing her school uniform and usual pigtails. How come Konata and the other two kids hadn't noticed that? Strange, this world was indeed very strange.

Kagami spotted a weight scale at her left, it was apparently new. In this world, just how much did she weigh? She took tentative steps forward, heading towards the direction where the weight scale was, nervously. She placed her left foot on the surface first, followed by the right one. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see what horrible number awaited her. Finally, she summoned the courage to open one eyelid, then the next one, revealing how much she weighed: 145 pounds. She freaked out, she was accustomed to being at least 125 pounds or less, but she didn't know if this was a good sign or not. She was supposedly in twenty-nine or thirty years old in this world, so was this healthy? But her appearance hadn't changed, yet she had gained weight. The horror of it! She stumbled back and crashed into a wall, very painful. She gulped, trying to forget about what she had just seen on the scale, but it was no good.

"Kagamin~ food's ready," Konata called.

Kagami didn't answer, she knew this wasn't where she belonged, she had to escape at all costs.

She peered out through the stair rail, to see if Konata was anywhere in sight—she wasn't, good. Kagami descended the stairs while tiptoeing, trying to be as quiet as possible. She spotted the door, and after taking the last step which separated her from the stairs, she ran aiming for the door, but just when she was about to reach for the doorknob, Konata instantly appeared in front of her.

"Where are you going, Kagamin?" Konata asked sweetly.

"T-to work, I just got a call…" Kagami said, now on the floor, avoiding eye contact.

"Kagami," Konata started, sighing. "I've known you for a _very _long time, enough to know that when you don't make eye contact is because you're lying or feel guilty about something."

_She noticed that? When did she learn that?_ "No, it's nothing like that, really," Kagami said, dismissing what Konata had said with a wave of the hand.

"Well, you're not leaving," Konata said, locking the door. "Don't make me play the mistress of pain tonight."

Kagami had gone to a scary visual place in her mind, she and Konata—mistress of pain? It was just downright scary…

"Aunt Kagami, let's eat," Aika called from the table.

"Aunt Kagami, hurry it up," Akio said, which freaked Kagami out since it had been the first time he had actually directed a word to her.

"They're waiting, Kagamin~" Konata said in a sing-song voice.

The kids climbed down their chairs and walked slowly over to where Kagami was. Kagami was cornered into a wall between the door and the stairs—no escape. "S-stay away or I'll call your mother Tsukasa!" Kagami felt a bit strange after saying that, she never thought a time would come when she would need to use Tsukasa's name to save her.

But the kids didn't back away, not even a little. They kept walking closer to Kagami, until they were touching. They reached out for Kagami's hand, taking one into each of their hands. "Come, Aunt Kagami, it's about time you faced it…"

"Don't worry, Kagamin," Konata said reassuringly. "I'll be right there with you!"

"With me where!?" Kagami shouted out the question, trying to escape the children's grasp, which was abnormally strong.

The kids opened the closet door—it was close to the dining room—the inside was indulged in darkness, nothing but black could be seen. "Come, Aunt Kagami, it's about time you faced it…" The kids had become extremely repetitive by now, so much that it creeped her out. Konata still didn't do anything to help her out—great wife s_he _turned out to be.

"Let me go, darn it!" Kagami said, struggling to escape.

The kids threw her into the closet, and she fell, and fell, and fell until she felt someone catch her by the wrist. How could anyone catch her? Nothing made sense anymore…

She wished she had never agreed on coming to the stupid House of Horrors.

_Stupid endless supply of Pocky… _She thought.

Return to Top


	4. The Obstacles of Courage and Conclusions

"It's cold," Konata complained. "Why do they design our skirts to be so short, anyway? They must be lolicons."

Konata wandered around the empty house, hoping for something to pop out and scare her, or at least surprise her a little—but no such luck. She was sort of bored now. She regretted leaving Kagami, at least she kept her a little entertained with all her never-ending ranting. Now, however, in the emptiness of the house, the whistling sounds the passing air--probably the AC-- were her only company. She had gotten the urge to sing a few minutes before, though then deciding against it because the echoing she would receive in return would just creep her out. She felt a little guilty for leaving Kagami alone, but comfortorting herself with the thought of the tsundere running to her arms once she found her, either glad she'd finally met her, set to smack her, or scared half to death of the dark and loneliness—the Pocky money wouldn't go to waste, anyhow. She herself wasn't sure if she and Kagami really _did _have to separate; to be honest, she was just bluffing when she said they had to. Nevertheless, she sure got an awesome reaction from the girl! Although she knew it was wrong to use her deceased mother for such vile purposes, such as pranks, she couldn't help it. _Dear mother up in heaven, please forgive your sinful daughter, _Konata thought. She grinned, that was just the way Kanako Miyamae would say it!

She decided to concentrate a little more on where she was heading; after all, she had no idea where to go. If she were her greatest fear, where would she hide? Konata went off in search of her greatest fear. She looked for it in the closet: nothing. She found a secret compartment that led to an attic, she tried looking for her worst fear there, but wasn't able to find it, either. She tried searching every part of the house, maybe she _had _come across her fear, and considering the fact that it had been so dark, she hadn't been able to spot it. She sighed in defeat, had she wasted 200 yen for nothing? Maybe she should start listening to what Kagami said and stop believing everything the TV and other devices told her. She continued her little stroll around the house; she decided that she would pretend to be a courageous adventurer off in search of her greatest fear and overcome it! It was either that or homework…

Konata walked around carelessly, hoping she would reach someplace interesting without aiming for a particular place—famous explorers found treasure that way. And right she was, for next thing she knew, she heard some voices coming from the back room. Curiosity got the best of her and she walked towards the room, entering it. There, by the threshold of the room, she saw a television showing some anime show she thought was familiar. She stepped forward, heading for the TV, and sat in front of it.

_Haven't seen this anime in a while since they started airing those detestable sports broadcasts, _Konata thought grumpily.

It was showing some back-to-back episodes of Kannazuki no Miko. She stared in wonder at the odd TV, why was it even there? She decided not to worry about it too much, though, and continued watching the show, until she heard one of the characters say an odd line, new line, that she couldn't recall them saying when she watched the show for the first time. She ought to know, she saw it a million times, enough to memorize most of the lines.

"But we're not powerful enough," Himeko said.

"We won't be able to beat the Orochi the way we are now," Chikane said.

"There will be obstacles, but I'll help you," Soma said.

"But we need more help…" Chikane said.

"You there!" Himeko called, staring straight into Konata's eyes from the TV.

"Eh?" Konata looked to both of her sides, confused, then back to the TV. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Himeko said, smiling.

"Y-yeah?" Konata asked.

"Would you like to help us?" Himeko asked.

Konata hesitated for a moment, but then again, how many times is one asked to fight alongside one of their favorite anime characters? "Are you kidding!? I'll do it!"

Suddenly, the screen went blank. Everything was dark except for the dim light that the blank screen emitted. Suddenly, strange winds were released from the screen. Konata was startled; they grabbed her and pulled her into the television.

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She now found herself at an unfamiliar place: the wind sweeping over green pastures, the clouds floating above in the blue skies, and rocks of all sorts and sizes stuck out the grass like islands in the ocean. Konata got to her feet, still aching a bit, and continued walking to nowhere in particular. She then saw a big rock that sort of resembled a hill, but as she had suspected, it was _just _a plain old rock that got too abnormally huge. She decided that she would climb it, to get a better view of where she was.

She climbed the odd rock and soon found herself up on the rocky surface; there she encountered someone she didn't expect at all to meet—Tsukasa.

"Kona-chan, you're here," the younger twin said, her usual smile.

"Tsukasa, what are you doing here? Where's Himeko?" Konata asked, straightening out her uniform. While doing that, she noticed that Tsukasa was wearing her shrine maiden clothing, holding some sort of plant in her right hand. "What's up with the Miko Cosplay?"

"Ah, this?" Tsukasa said, looking over her clothing as if she herself had just become aware of it. "I'm the shrine maiden of this pastures, and I was told I had to receive a newcomer."

"Tsukasa, you're talking weird," Konata said.

"K-Kona-chan, could it be, _you're _the newcomer I'm supposed to receive?" Tsukasa asked.

"I dunno," Konata replied.

"E-eto…um… assistant, please come and help me out!" Tsukasa called.

Out came Kagami, in shrine maiden clothing, as well, holding some sort of scroll in her hands. "Tsukasa… you didn't ask the master who the newcomer was?"

"Sorry, Onee-chan, I-I mean, _**assistant**_," Tsukasa corrected herself, "but I sort of forgot to ask, hehe."

"Honestly, this is your first time at being the guidance," Kagami said, sighing. "Didn't you have enough enthusiasm to try and do it well?"

"I-I'm sorry," Tsukasa apologized.

"Um… can anybody here tell me what's going on?" Konata asked, feeling as though she had been forgotten. "Whatever happened to the Kannazuki no Miko concept?"

"Oh, yeah," Kagami said, handing the scroll to Tsukasa. "We just used that as a lure for getting you here."

"Kagamin, so evil… using my weakness to get me to do something!" Konata exclaimed, pouting.

"Look who's talking," Kagami said, rolling her eyes.

Tsukasa cleared her throat and started reading aloud what was written on the scroll: "Newcomer, you are here to overcome three challenges set by the gods. I, Hiiragi Tsukasa, will be your guidance throughout each one of them, with the help of my assistant if necessary. I cannot help you in any of the challenges in any way, whether you are able to emerge successful in them is entirely up to you, I can only watch and answer questions if any."

_It's like they've changed roles… _Konata thought, a little disturbed. "So, what am I supposed to do now, Tsukasa-Sama?"

"Eto…" Tsukasa fidgeted around with her fingers, and then asked her sister what she should do. After Kagami told her what she was to do next, she answered, "Kona-chan, right now my assistant will hand you a device that will enable us to communicate."

Kagami handed Konata a small device that resembled a cell phone—in fact, it w_as _a cell phone.

"Why didn't you just say it was a cell phone, Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

"Master says big words make you sound important and mighty," Tsukasa responded with a smile.

"Ah, I know what you mean," Konata continued enthusiastically, already having placed the phone in her pocket. "The sages in my games usually use big words to sound smart, when you could just use the simple stuff and get it over with!"

"I know, right?"

"Right?"

Kagami cleared her throat and glanced over at her sister, her way of telling her to stop with the pointless conversation.

"O-oh, anyway," Tsukasa continued, going back to the almighty tone. "I will now transport you to where your first challenge will be held. I wish you luck, Kona-chan!"

Then, Konata disappeared.

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Konata opened her eyes, she had closed them when Tsukasa did some weird gestures with her hands before the transportation, and found herself back in her classroom at Ryoo High School. Everything looked the same, nothing strange about that. Though, the room was giving off an eerie aura that made shivers go down her spine. Just then, Kuroi-sensei entered the empty classroom with her usual carefree smile. "Yo!" she greeted Konata, placing down the workbooks she had brought into the classroom with her. "Welcome to tutoring, Izumi!"

"Tutoring!?" Konata had lots of things to do after school, like gaming and such; she didn't have time to waste her precious life in tutoring!

"Yea, we'll start you off by taking a test, 'kay?" Kuroi-sensei suggested, taking out two sheets of paper with about fifty questions each. "Sit down over here, close to my desk."

Konata sluggishly made her way up to where Kuroi-sensei had indicated her to sit; it was the teacher's pet's seat. Kuroi-sensei placed both papers on Konata's desk. "This is a review of all we have done throughout the school year; it shouldn't be too hard, hmm?"

_I didn't cram for it! _Konata desperately thought. She had always gotten by in school through cramming the night before a big test, but now she was given some sort of pop quiz as a challenge and didn't have time to prepare. Wasn't she at the House of Horrors just a few minutes ago? How in the world did she end up back at school? There was no time to answer those questions; she had a test to take.

"Kuroi-Sensei, may I go to the restroom, please?" Konata asked.

"Are you going to try to escape through the window like last time?" was Kuroi-Sensei's only response.

_Same tricks don't work twice on her, I see, _Konata thought, now having learned something new about her teacher.

Kuroi-sensei made her way back to her desk and sat down, taking out a magazine and starting to read it. "You got all the time you need to complete it starting…now."

Konata was given a separate sheet of paper to answer the questions, so she took out a pencil and got started. She read the first question: The water of the earth's oceans store lots of heat. An engineer designed an ocean liner that would extract heat from the ocean's waters at T – 10 C (283 K) and reject heat to the atmosphere at T – 20 C (293 K). He thought he had a good idea, but his boss fired him. Explain why.

Answer: Because the boss had found out his wife cheated on him, plus his favorite football team lost, so he wasn't in the mood for science stuff and fired the poor guy.

Konata read the next question: A chemical reaction does not function properly when…

Answer: Maybe the girl and the guy just aren't meant for each, you know? Let _them_ work out their own problems, I'm not solving it.

Konata sighed, she felt a little relieved. She looked out the window, the day was beautiful…

"No spacing out!" Kuroi-Sensei said, startling Konata, and then returned to her magazine.

Next question: Psychology—your child has only a small while to live; do you still enroll them in school?

Answer: NEVER!!!!! Let the poor thing enjoy the small bits of life it has left!

Next question: What's the difference between a novel and a book?

_Kagami taught me this one, what was it!? _Konata thought. She tried to recall a time when she and Kagami were hanging out at the manga and anime store, Kagami had asked her if she had wanted to read a novel of hers, but she had refused. Kagami started talking about how romantic and heart-warming the story was, but Konata had been entranced in her manga book, so all she heard Kagami say was "Bla bla bla…" and so on. Now she wished she had paid more attention. Her dad was going to take the computer away _for sure _if she got a bad grade.

Right then, Konata felt something begin to vibrate close to her thigh—the cell phone. She looked over to where Kuroi-Sensei was sitting and when she saw that she was too busy with her magazine, she quickly reached into her pocket and pulled the phone out. _Mission start!_ She thought as she swung the phone open, like some sort of cool spy person.

**You have a new message!**

She clicked over where it said "read" and then began reading the message.

- - - - - - - - - -

-Tsukasa: Kona-Chan, it's Tsukasa.

-Konata: Tsukasa, y r u txtng me?

-Tsukasa: I'm ur guidens

-Konata: Who taught u how 2 use slang words?

-Tsukasa: Onee—I mean, my assistant.

-Konata: K. So, wat is it?

-Tsukasa: Sry, it took me a while 2 reply… I will help u on ur 1st challenge.

-Konata: I thought u weren't allowed 2 help me.

-Tsukasa: Not "help," but "guide."

-Konata: Ah, play of words, I c. Thnx. ~_~

-Tsukasa: No prob, Kona-chan ^^

-Tsukasa: Kona-chan?

-Tsukasa: Hello?

-Tsukasa: Anybody?

-Tsukasa: ; . ;…

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Cheating on a test, are ya?" Kuroi-Sensei began; in her left hand was the cell phone that Konata had been previously holding.

"Wait up!" Konata tried to think of some excuse fast, she was good at that stuff. "Ah! I was taking the test like any good kid would do, and then I got distracted by the beautiful scenery out the window and happened to see a U.F.O!"

"U.F.O?" Kuroi asked, giving Konata a skeptical look.

"Yes, yes, a U.F.O!" Konata continued, she herself getting into the false story. "Then, there was this girl walking around a nearby park, and the U.F.O emitted a weird light from their flying plate thing and abducted the girl!"

"Oh, did they?" Kuroi-Sensei said incredulously.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Konata said, nodding to give her little story more effect. "And then they did some sort of weird radar thing with their flying plate thing and it reached my cell phone, and I just had to check, you know? Since I'm not used to carrying a cell phone I just _had _to; after all, Kuroi-Sensei, it was a message from the beings of outer space!"

"Hmm," Kuroi hummed audibly. She then inhaled an incredible amount of air into her lungs and shouted, "DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT!?"

She stamped Konata's test with a "Fail."

"Kuroi-sensei, why!?" Konata whined, all her games were going to be taken away by her father. Of course, she could just hide the bad grade from him. Then she decided to get back at Kuroi-Sensei, "Don't expect any more rare items from me because—" But she wasn't able to finish her sentence, for she had vanished from the classroom.

Challenge No. 1— Failed.

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"Tsukasa…" Kagami said, drawing her sister's attention to over to herself.

"O-Onee-chan, I'm sorry—"

"Honestly, you caused the girl to lose her challenge, by _guiding _her," Kagami said, sighing.

"I-I-I didn't mean to, you should have been the guidance…" Tsukasa said, sounding a little depressed.

"No time for crying, you're my little sister, so be strong and try again," Kagami encouraged Tsukasa.

"I will!"

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Konata: Tsukasa, y do u hate me T^T?

Tsukasa: I'm sorry, Kona-chan, I was only trying 2 help ; . ;

Konata: A/W wat now?

Tsukasa: Challenge 2.

Konata: Which is...

Tsukasa: U'll c.

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Konata now found herself in her room. All the new released issues of manga stacked near her pillow and some at the end of her bed, and there were also the ones scattered on the floor. Her collectors' figures all clean and well-taken care of, her computer displaying a Haruhi image as a screen saver, and her posters hanging from wall to wall all around the room. She breathed in the sweet scent of her room, her muscles relaxing now that she was back home—or what appeared to be home, at least. She knew there was still something fishy going on; the room didn't feel quite right, it had a strange feel to it.

She worked her way down the stairs and found her dad, Sojiro, watching TV in the living room. She walked over to where he was to greet him. "Hey, dad."

Sojiro didn't turn around. He responded, "My daughter, you are back…"

"What's up with your way of talking? Like, it doesn't fit you…" Konata said, taking a seat next to her dad.

"Konata… I received a call from your teacher," Sojiro informed.

Konata immediately froze. _If I run to the door right now, I could probably still make it out of here without having to explain anything...Three…two…one—_

"Konata, I have taken all your games away," Sojiro said sternly, arms folded.

"Eh! That can't be!" Konata exclaimed, not being given the chance to take off running out the door because of the news her father had just shared with her. "They're all in my room."

"Look to your right."

Konata did so, and there she saw all of her games piled up in some sort of mountain.

_Were my games there just a minute ago?_ Konata questioned herself, trying to recall what had been there during that time.

"If you want to get back your games you…" her father stopped, to add to the suspense, "…will have to beat me at a game of 'Sensei and Ninomiya-kun'!" he finished his sentence pointing to the TV, which now contained the Playstation 3 with two handlers.

_Was __**that **__there just a minute ago? _She questioned herself again, arms folded. _Very weird…_

"Konata…a-are you listening to me?" Sojiro asked, feeling a little forgotten and ignored.

"Eh?" Konata stopped minding the small details and went back to listening to her father. If she had a chance of getting all of her games back, she wasn't about to let it go so easily; after all, her father could never beat her. "It's on!"

Sojiro went to insert the game CD in the Playstation, then returned with two controllers to his seat next to Konata, handing her one of them.

The game had started, and the game characters said their usual and dramatic "Sensei! Ninomiya-kun!" over and over, to the point where Konata and her dad, being the ones playing the game, got sort of annoyed.

"Let's switch to another game?" Sojiro suggested.

"Let's…"

Sojiro inserted another game CD and returned to his seat. It was a fighting game, sort of like Mortal Combat.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**ROUND 1: FIGHT!**

Konata maneuvered the controller like she did the computer, her expression an easy-going one. Her father, on the other hand, had trouble trying to keep up with Konata's pace.

Konata: Kick, kick, miss.

Sojiro: Dodge, hit, punch.

Konata: Combo: punch, punch, jump, kick—ultra kick.

Sojiro: Hit. DONE

Winner: Konata

"Oho~" Konata laughed. "Dad, you haven't gotten any better at all!"

"You game all night!" he said in his defense. "I haven't had time to improve because of work!"

"Whatever you say~"

**ROUND 2: FIGHT!**

Sojiro knew he had to get back in the game—in a way—to teach Konata a lesson, to show her she had to study and earn good grades to make a living. He got some abnormal aura to him, now, and began to play better. Konata, who had been getting by just fine, now actually had to put in some more effort.

Sojiro: Punch, punch, kick, kick, spin, elbow blow.

Konata: Dodge, hit, miss, miss, butt whoop.

Sojiro: Combo: spin, kick, spin, punch—tornado hits.

Konata: Hit. DONE

Winner: Sojiro

"Uh…" Konata groaned under her breath.

"Heh, who's on top now, my daughter?" Sojiro bragged.

"There's still one more round!"

**ROUND 3: FIGHT!**

Both Konata and Sojiro put in a lot of effort on this one, neither of them wanting to lose. This round was the tie-breaker, as well as the one that would decide if Konata would be allowed to win back her games and keep them. She wondered if she should cheat or sabotage her dad in some way, but she knew that a good player didn't use dirty tactics to win, they won fair and square.

Sojiro: Combo: jump, roll, spin, kick—power kick.

Konata: Combo: roll, spin, kick—mega trip.

Sojiro: Kick, punch, dodge.

Konata: Jump, kick, miss.

_The old man's putting up a good fight, I'll give him that, _Konata thought, struggling to keep her game character in the duel.

_I taught her well, she is indeed my daughter, _Sojiro thought.

Right then, Konata felt something vibrate in her pocket. She didn't want to get distracted, this game would cost her all of her life's worth, but she decided she'd tell Tsukasa to hold up. She could manage to play and text at the same time for a little while. She was glad to be ambidextrous at the moment.

Konata pulled out her cell phone and checked the new message.

- - - - - - - - -- - - - - -

Tsukasa: Kona-chan, how r u doing on ur new challenge? I've come 2 help ^^.

Konata: Not now, Tsukasa, I'm in d middle of—

Tsukasa: :o? Kona-chan?

Tsukasa: ; . ;….Again?

- - - - -- - - -- - - - - -

Konata didn't have time to finish the text; her dad had already beaten her at the game.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Winner: Sojiro**

**- - - - - - - - - - - -- - **

"N-no way…" Konata let the controller drop to the floor, along with the cell phone. She had actually lost.

"Konata, you know what this means…" her father said darkly, getting up from his seat.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Konata pleaded, standing up now.

Suddenly, all her games disappeared, vanished, gone. She was left standing there in utter shock, not moving. Her precious games were nowhere in sight: her DVDs, anime soundtrack CDs, cassettes, videos, manga, and more—all gone. She tried to keep it together, though.

"Now, Konata, go to your room and…"

_No, don't say the word! _Konata thought desperately.

"…study."

Before Konata could yell out another dramatic "no," she had disappeared just like her games—transported to the last challenge.

Challenge No. 2— Failed

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"O-Onee-chan…" Tsukasa whimpered.

"Assistant," Kagami corrected her. "What is it, Tsukasa?"

"I did it to Kona-chan again," she sobbed.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Kagami said, sighing. "Seriously, what kind of guidance are you?"

"You're scolding me, too," Tsukasa cried.

"Sorry, sorry," Kagami said, trying to calm her sister down a little. "It'll be fine, don't worry. If she manages to get past this one, she still has a chance to get out of this place."

"So, it's time we met up with her?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah, but I hope she can handle the hardship we're about to put on her," Kagami said, looking up at the blue skies, dazed. "The last challenge, huh?"

Tsukasa gulped.

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Konata opened her eyes and found herself at an airport. She could see a plane taking off through the big glass windows, _like a bird,_ she thought. The otaku noted the crowds of people making their way out of gates to exit the plane, and some entering them. She also caught sight of people sitting in their respective waiting sections: reading, playing with electronics, talking on the phone, sleeping, and doing other stuff to pass the time. She had never been on a plane before, so the airport was something new for her. If she got carsick easily, she wondered how she would handle flying on a plane.

In the midst of her wandering thoughts, she spotted two familiar girls: the twins. Tsukasa and Kagami were sitting by their own gate, idling time away by reading or contemplating the planes that took off as they awaited the arrival of something. Just then, Miyuki and Misao appeared. Miyuki sat next to Tsukasa, handing her a book she had bought on the way to their gate, and Misao sat next to Kagami, taking a lick at her chocolate ice cream and then offering some to Kagami, much to Konata's horror. She walked over to where the small group was sitting.

"Hey, guys," she greeted them.

"Izumi-san?" Miyuki said, squinting her eyes a little as if to make sure that the person that had just spoken was really Konata.

"Kona-chan, what are you doing here?" Tsukasa asked.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked.

"You told us you wouldn't be able to come and bid farewell to Onee-chan because you had to attend an anime convention," Tsukasa explained.

"Farewell?" Konata repeated.

"Yes," Miyuki picked up where Tsukasa left off. "Kagami-san has to go live with her Aunt and Uncle in the United States due to the fact that she has been offered a job by them and will be provided a much more stable lifestyle, along with an education."

"EH!?" Konata was surprised. She then turned to Kagami. "Kagami, you're going away? And why is Misao here?"

Kagami let out an annoyed sigh and then glared up at Konata. "To answer your first question, yes, it's true, I already told you that, but apparently you never bothered to listen. And for the second one, I called Misao here to come in your stead."

"Eh!?" Misao looked shocked. "So I'm just a replacement for the squirt!?"

"N-not at all," Kagami said, shaking her head. "You're a much better friend than Konata, any day."

"Oh," Misao said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Good."

"But, Kagami, I swear I didn't know!" Konata said in her defense.

"It's too little too late, Konata," Kagami said, getting up and taking her luggage. "My plane is here."

Konata looked over to her right, there she saw the people entering the gate that led to their plane. Kagami walked towards it, Konata tried to stop her, but for some reason, her body wouldn't move. _Move, legs, I have to stop her!_ Konata thought desperately.

Misao went up to where Kagami was and hugged her. "I'll see ya, Hiiragi, someday."

"Thank you, Misao," Kagami said gratefully. "Y-you're my best friend. I regret not having been with you all those days at lunch time."

"We can make them up, Hiiragi," Misao said, smiling. "I assure you we will!"

Kagami smiled. Then, Miyuki and Tsukasa were next.

"Onee-chan, take care, okay?"

"We will await your arrival… if you ever come back," Miyuki said.

They both broke down to tears.

"Don't worry, Miyuki, you're going off to Tokyo University," Kagami said. "You'll be fine."

Kagami then turned to Tsukasa. "And as for you, Tsukasa, you better do well at that new school our parents are transferring you to."

Tsukasa nodded, teary-eyed.

_Miyuki and Tsukasa are going away, too? _Konata felt her heart drop.

In a few minutes, Kagami was already out of sight and in the plane that would soon be departing off to a foreign country very far away from Japan. Miyuki and Tsukasa turned to the frozen Konata.

"Sorry for not telling you, Kona-chan, I forgot to," Tsukasa apologized.

"But why, Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

"Since Onee-chan will be gone, my parents think I may get bullied, so they're transferring me," Tsukasa explained.

"But I'll protect you like last time, with the foreigner!" Konata said.

"My papers have already been sent to that school, Kona-chan, there isn't anything you or I can do," Tsukasa finished, sniffled, then turned to Miyuki. "I'll write, Yuki-chan." And she took off.

"Tsukasa!" Konata called after her, but she was gone.

Miyuki pulled out a handkerchief, sniffled, and then said, "Izumi-san, it was a pleasure to meet you. And I'm very sorry I wasn't able to stay."

"Miyuki-san, I always knew you'd achieve great things... but why so early?" Konata asked.

"The people at the University think I'm ready to face the challenges of College life," Miyuki explained.

"Oh..."

"Farewell, Izumi-san" were Miyuki's last words before she, too, went her separate way.

They both left Konata alone in a crowd full of strangers.

"Everybody's gone, I'm alone…" Konata said to herself, her voice low.

"Eto… I'm still here," Misao said.

Konata looked over at Misao. _She was always a side character, anyway. She doesn't count, _Konata thought, and then went back to sulking.

Poor Misao's pupils shrunk to pinpricks as her eyes widened like saucers, her mouth gaping in a mixture of dumbfounded amazement and sheer disappointment with being thrown back onto the sidelines once more.

"Are you looking down on me!?" she exclaimed.

Konata closed her eyes and blocked out the sounds of the voices of all the strangers, and Misao's. She didn't want to hear anything right now, she wanted peace, tranquility. The noise only made her more stressed. Maybe she should have studied a little more, or not. What was she to do now? Her friends were always there to help her out and cheer her on in whatever it was that she did. But now they were all gone; they had left her. She opened her eyes to find all the strangers staring at her—and not in a good way, either. They approached her slowly, what were they going to do? She didn't care, if everyone was gone, why should she even put effort into doing something so meaningless? Kagami would get mad at her if she just gave up, but Kagami said that Misao was her best friend, so it didn't matter, anymore.

Suddenly, she felt two hands reach for her and grab her by the calves, then they pulled her down into the floor, the ground, the water. Yes, she might as well just drown.

**GAME OVER**

Challenge 3— Failed.

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"Wake up," a voice hissed.

_Can't a girl get a serious, dramatic moment at least once in her life? _Konata thought grumpily. _Like the damsel in distress and stuff._

"Izumi-Senpai, are you okay?" the voice asked, tone still below a whisper.

"Senpai…?" Konata opened her eyelids slowly, like a lens focusing, trying to make out the face of the person that had spoken.

Hiyori came into view. "Ah, you're awake! Senpai, you've reached your time limit, it's time to go."

"Hiyorin, what are you doing here?" Konata asked, noticing they were still in the House of Horrors; the inky blackness gave that away.

"I'll tell you once we get out," Hiyori said, helping Konata up. "Follow me."

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Konata and Hiyori were both out of the creepy house by now. When Konata took the last step out of the doorway, she saw that there was still an awfully long line of people waiting to get in. She recalled seeing the people that came out of the house traumatized, but she was just fine. Hiyori led her to the back of the building, where she found Kagami, Tsukasa, and Miyuki. Miyuki was lying on a nearby bench, a little dazed and out of it. Kagami was leaning on a wall, her features giving away an aura of discomfort. Tsukasa was alongside her sister, disturbed, tugging at her skirt once again, her whole body slightly trembling as she stared blankly into space. Konata walked over to them.

"Hey!" she greeted them

Kagami and Tsukasa jumped, they were startled. Miyuki remained sort of unconscious on the bench.

"K-Kona-chan, w-welcome back," Tsukasa stuttered, trying to make her voice sound as cheerful as it had always been, but failing.

"O-osu, Konata," Kagami returned the greeting. Though, she avoided eye contact with the girl, she felt a little weird.

"Kagami, you're not looking me in the eye," Konata noted.

Kagami jumped again, then shivered, for that sentence brought back the terrible memories of what she had experienced in the House of Horrors.

"You okay?" Konata asked, and then looked over at where Miyuki was. "Is Miyuki-san okay?"

"They'll be fine," Hiyori said. "I guided each and every one of them out of the building. Takara-Senpai was already in that state when I found her."

"Oh, yeah," Konata said, recalling what Hiyori had said earlier. "What were you doing in there, Hiyorin?"

Hiyori rubbed the back of her head as she replied, "I work here as a part-time job. I need the money, you know, for buying the stuff I like… Since this place was only temporary, I thought it would be perfect; the pay is good, too."

"Hehe." Konata grinned. "Hiyorin, your parents don't want to give you any more money for anime and manga, huh?"

Hiyori nodded, a little embarrassed. "Right on the dot, Izumi-Senpai. I need some green for the Comiket event, you get me, right?"

Tsukasa was the one to jump, now. Her entire body started shaking, and she even made Kagami tremble a little, being one to still be tugging at her sister's skirt. "Comiket…Comiket…Comiket…" she repeated the word in a sort of never-ending cycle, traumatized.

"Tsukasa, you look pale," Konata said to the girl.

"I-I'll be fine…" she said, forcing a smile.

"You sure?" the otaku asked.

Tsukasa nodded.

"But honestly, Hiyori," Kagami said, sighing. "You're too young to become like Konata…"

"Oh, not at all!" Hiyori said. "Actually, I a_spire _to become like Izumi-Senpai!"

"Oh, great," Kagami said under her breath, sarcasm clearly noticeable.

"Kagamin, you don't seem to be in a very good mood, either," Konata began. "What exactly happened after I left?"

Kagami's eyes widened and she turned red. She averted her gaze from Konata's and stubbornly replied, "N-nothing that you should know about! W-why should I tell you, anyway? I-I-I just had a hard time finding the exit, that's all."

"Aww," Konata cooed. "Then there's the way you resist. So cute~"

"You making fun of everthing is why I never want to tell you! And you still owe me those Pocky, don't think I've forgotten."

"I'll call Takara-Senpai's parents so that they can come and pick her up, is that okay?" Hiyori asked.

"Yeah," everyone agreed.

"Tsukasa, when we get back home we have to start on homework, okay?" Kagami told her sister. She then checked her watch and saw that it was 6:45 p.m. "It's already this late!"

"Ah!" Konata yawned nonchalantly. "Well, I guess I'll just see you guys tomorrow. Kagami, don't worry I haven't forgotten the Pocky, I'll keep my end of the deal. Also... I'll drop by and copy your homework tomorrow, bye!" And she ran off at top speed.

"Oi, get back here!" Kagami shouted after her, but the girl was already long gone. Kagami sighed. "That girl is going to grow up to be a bad person…"

Tsukasa smiled nervously.

. . .

"Oi, just now you were thinking about copying my homework when I'm done, too, weren't you?" Kagami accused.

"Eh!?"

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Reviews would really make me happy =) Pretty please?


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